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o /kzi i UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM OLUSE, or TorrEnHAM ooUR'r ROAD, country OF MIDDLESEX,

ENGLAND.

Fl RE-ESCAPE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 370,685, datedSeptember 2'7, 1887. Application filed June 30, 1887. Serial No.242,983. (No model.) Patented in England September 11, 1885, No. 10,789.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it kown that 1, WILLIAM OLUsE, a subject of the Queen of GreatBritain, residing at Tottenham Court Road, county of Middlesex, England,have invented new and useful Improvements in Fire-Escapes, (for which Ihave obtained a patent in Great Britain, N 0. 10,789, bearing dateSeptember 11, 1885,) of which the following is a specification.

This invention hasfor its object to provide novel means for actuating afolding'laddcr fire-escape; and to such end it consists in thecombination of devices,hereinafter described, and specifically pointedout in the claim, ref erence being made to the accompanying drawings, inwhich Figure l is a front elevation of a fire-escape constructed inaccordance with my invention. A portion of the building also is shown.Fig. 2 is a front view of the same apparatus folded. Fig. 3 shows, on alarger scale, aportiou f the outer T-iron forming the movable upright ofthe ladder and one of the rounds or spokes attached to it. Fig. 4 isahorizontal section of the same.

a is the T-iron, which is fixed at the bottom of the vertical groove orrecess in the face of the building. bis the corresponding movableT-iron,which, when the escape is folded,con1es flush with the outer faceof the wall.

0 c are the steps or rounds. These parts may be of wrought-iron, tinnedor galvanized. The steps or rounds c e are secured to the tiange of theT-irons alternately on the two faces of the flange to admit of theladder folding, as seen in Fig. 2.

d d are rivets, which form the connections between the T-iron uprightsand the steps or rounds. They are inserted in such manner as to formfreely-moving joints, and gun-metal or other suitable washers areincluded between the parts.

-'c c are horns at the ends of the steps or rounds c. When these arehorizontal, they abut upon the heads of the uprights a and b, and theupright bis thus sustained, and it oannot descend between below theposition in which the steps or rounds are horizontal.

It will be observed that the horns at the outer ends of the steps orrounds are directed upward, while those at the inner ends are directeddownward. They all simultaneously come against the uprights a and 6,housing themselves in the interval between the stem of from the face ofthe house or building, and f f are the additional stepsor rounds whichlprovide upon the ladder to facilitate passing this molding indescending or ascending. These additional steps or rounds are fixed tothe outer upright, b, and also to an iron,g, which is fixed to b by itsends. The iron 12 is so shaped that it conforms to the molding when theladder is folded, as seen in Fig. 2.

The gear which I provide for lowering and raising the movable upright 11of the ladder from the interior of the house or'building consists of avertical axis, h, which can be rotated by means of a crank-handle, t, onan axis carrying a beveled wheel, 2', which gears with a correspondingwheel, h, on the vertical axis h. Provision may, if desired, be made forthus rotating the axis h from every door of the building. The axis hcarries a worm, k, which engages with a worm-wheel, Z, on the axis of abarrel m. A chain, n, is wound upon the barrel m, and it also passesobliquely to the movable upright 12 of the ladder. When the barrel isturned in a direction to unwind the chain, the ladder by its own weightdescends to the position in which it is shown in Fig. 1, and when thebarrel is turned in the contrary direction and the chain wound up theladder is folded to the position represented in Fig. 2.

I connect alarms with the axis h, which sound on every floor of thebuilding when the axis is turned to lower the escape-ladder.

What I claim is The combination, in a fire-escape, of the foldingupright 12 and pivoted rounds c with the vertical shaft h, having thebevel-gear h and worm Ir, the crank-handle i, carrying the bevel-gear t,and the barrel m, having the worm Z, and the chain at, connecting thebarrel with the folding upright, substantially as and for the purposesdescribed.

In witness whereof Ihave hereto signed my name in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

' WILLIAM GLUSE.

Witnesses: HENRY GARDNER, RICHARD OoRn GARDNER, Both of 166 FleetStreet, London, England.

